


game night

by watergator



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009 Era (Phandom), Alcohol, Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:42:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watergator/pseuds/watergator
Summary: dan learns what a lester family game night is like
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 15
Kudos: 135





	game night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dansstripedsweater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dansstripedsweater/gifts).



> written for dana for the phandomgives charity fic <3

A soft knock at the door has Dan pulling away from Phil at such a speed he could have launched his whole body across the room.   
  
His cheeks are burnings, lip wet and bitten when the doors opens and it’s Kath that pokes her head around and when her eyes meet Dan’s he swears he can feel his pulse in his fingertips as he does his best to awkwardly shuffle away from where he’s pressed shoulder to shoulder with her son on his bed.   
  
“Dinner will be ready soon boys,” she tells them sweetly, smiling at Dan like she hadn’t the faintest of ideas that he was just macking on Phil’s neck, the blush feeling red hot under his skin now as he diverts his eyes away from her kind and gentle face.   
  
“Thanks, mum,” Phil croaks and with a quick flicker of his eyes, he watches Phil awkwardly rub at the back of his neck, almost elbowing Dan in the face which he dodges quickly.   
  
Kath lingers for a moment, smiling at them both like she knows and Dan’s sure that if his face gets any redder and any hotter that it might actually implode and leave brain matter all up Phil’s horribly wallpapered walls.   
  
Phil nods at her, a universal signal for mum’s that, yes you can leave now thank you, and it seems to work because she looks at Dan, gives him a smile and leaves, shutting the door with a soft click.   
  
The sound of her footsteps grow further and further away and once they’re practically non-existent to them both, Dan lets his entire body relax in the form of practically melting across where Phil is, making him give a gentle giggle as he tries (and fails) to push him off.   
  
“Mate,” Dan says deadpan as he looks up from where he is now laying across Phil’s legs. “You need a lock. Please.”   
  
Phil chews the inside of his cheek to hide his grin that Dan can so very easily see through, and he runs his fingers through Dan’s fringe, pushing it off his forehead, making it feel weirdly exposed.   
  
“They’d only get more suspicious,” Phil tells him, lazily combing his hair with his fingers, making Dan feel a little sleepy when he hums.   
  
“Aren’t they already suspicious?” He asks, closing his eyes and pushing his head into Phil’s palm like a cat, making him laugh when he opens his eyes to look back up at him.   
  
“Do you want them to be suspicious?” Phil asks gently.   
  
Dan looks at him for a moment, looking up at the kind blue eyes that feel warmer than any summer sky, brows curved in concern, fingernails scrape gently against his scalp rather soothingly but Dan pushes himself up and Phil’s hand flops back down to his side as he settles to sit beside him again.   
  
“Sorry,” Phil says after a while of silence and Dan draws his knees to his chest, hugging himself as he waits for Phil to maybe say something else.

He doesn’t though, and the longer the silence stretches out, Dan supposes he might actually have to say what he’s thinking even if it’s not all great.   
  
“I don’t want them to be suspicious,” Dan mumbles into his knees, not yet brave enough to look Phil in the eye. “But for the right reasons.”   
  
There’s a hand on his arm and it feels grounding.    
  
“I want them to know we love each other but not because we put a lock on your door,” Dan tells him, turning his head to face him now, and Phil doesn’t pull away. “I want them to know we love each other because we love each other and that it’s okay that we do.”   
  
He gets to watch the smile that breaks across the face that causes an eruption of butterflies in his stomach every time he’s the one to be the cause of that smile.   
  
Phil moves his hand from his arm up and up until it’s cupping the face and once again Dan has to give into the primal want to just push his whole face into that sweet palm like a cat, but he doesn’t and he just smiles at Phil.

“They will know,” Phil whispers, his voice cracking. “When we want them to know, yeah?”   
  
Dan’s chest grows tight and all he can do is nod. 

They feel like nothing else can come between this moment, just them existing in Phil’s bedroom, and beyond the walls and the shut, lockless door is just the rest of the universe, them floating in the middle with nothing else to worry about.

Until Kath calls them for dinner.

*   
  
Dan’s wearing his most polite face, grinning and nodding along to everything Phil’s parents say, which earns him a snigger in his ear and Phil kicking him gently under the table but Dan carries on with his world famous “I’m A Good, Kind, Well Mannered Christian (kind of) Boy” act that he just knows would have his nana in tears at how well practiced his compliments towards Kath were (even if the food was a tad burnt but he’s not really looking for specifics here).

He even tries to engage in whatever Manly Man conversation Nigel is talking about across the table and when Dan brings up the fact he actually worked in a hardware store once, he’s extra careful to create the illusion real without popping it with the whole selling an axe story that he’s sure to ruin whatever facade he’s got going here in front of his boyfriend’s parents.

And when he’s alone with Phil in the kitchen washing up, he feels a bump at his shoulder, looking round to Phil’s smirk as he scrubs the remains of the lasagne off his plate.   
  
“What?” Dan asks, voice quiet, conscious of the fact that Kath and Nigel are just a room away but Phil gives a breathy laugh.   
  
“You don’t have to try so hard,” Phil says, looking up at him as he passes the plate into his hands. “You know that, right?”   
  
Dan swallows thickly and looks down at the plate and starts drying.   
  
“Maybe I want to try hard,” he shrugs, and he hears Phil playfully scoff which in turn causes his lips to curl into a small smile he tries to keep hidden, but he can’t help it, and gives an airy laugh.   
  
“They like you,” Phil whispers to him, pressing his arm next to his, the next best thing to perhaps a kiss in the middle of the kitchen, or lacing their pruney fingers together.    
  
Dan puts the plate on the side, gentle for it to make a noise when he looks at Phil with a small grin. “I hope so,” he whispers.   
  
Phil smiles at him, his eyes going small when he squints at him as they continue their teamwork of washing dishes.   
  
When they’ve finished and the kitchen is looking like it’s a goddamned showhome, they’re ready to just make their way back upstairs where they can play reruns of Buffy with the volume on the tv a touch too loud so that when Dan kisses Phil’s neck again, it won’t be so loud through the paper thin walls.

But before they can chase each other up the stairs like a couple of loved up teens (despite the fact that Dan actually is a teenager still) they’re stopped in their tracks when Kath is at the foot of the stairs, a hand placed on the banister that blocks them.   
  
“Boys,” she grins like she’s got something planned, and for a gut clenching moment Dan has a million fears as to what she might actually say - maybe call them out for making out too loud? Does she actually hate him? Does she not approve? Is she going to blame Dan for rubbing his…  _ gayness _ off on Phil?   
  
Every worry and every doubt melts away like wet sugar when she smiles sweetly at him, almost as if she can read every anxious thought bouncing around his skull when she reaches out to touch at his arm, almost flinching before he lets himself relax at her warm hand on his arm.   
  
“Me and your dad wanted to invite you to the living room,” she says looking at Phil. “Game night!”   
  
Phil glances at Dan quickly and then back at his mum, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, gasping for some kind of excuse before Dan speaks for him, heart beating hard in his chest like it might crack a rib, steadying his voice to hide any nerves when he says,

“Sounds good.”   
  
*   
  
They’re sat side by side on the floor in front of the coffee table whilst Kath and Nigel are perched up on the sofa.   
  
Phil keeps giving Dan nervous little glances, he can see it out of the corner of his eye but he chooses to ignore it and instead focuses on Phil’s dad trying to find the missing houses from the Monopoly box, and when it’s finally found, Dan, Nigel and Kath all laughing whilst Phil watches on in sheer confusion, they’re ready.   
  
“What’s happening?” Phil asks, leaning in close to Dan, keeping his voice low when Kath and Nigel are fussing with their drinks.   
  
Dan looks at him, grinning. “I’m not not trying hard,” he tells him with a shrug of his shoulders.   
  
Meanwhile Phil lets his slump down. “You know I’m crap at double negatives,” he tells him, deadpan, and Dan snorts a laugh loud enough to have both parents look around at them.   
  
“I’d say to team up but I have a feeling you lot will just gang up on me and your poor old mum,” Nigel says through a deep laugh and Dan finds himself awkwardly laughing along with him.   
  
“It’s only Monopoly,” Phil tells him as he picks up one of the plastic little houses and sets it back down again. “You can’t be  _ that  _ bad, can you?”

Nigel gives him a pointed look. “There’s a reason we drink during these games, my son.”   
  
Phil laughs and it feels easier for Dan to laugh too, looking at him.    
  
“It’s true,” Phil tells him. “Every game ends up in either an argument or more drinks until we forget what we were even doing to begin with.”   
  
Dan smiles at him before switching to stare at the little Monopoly man in the centre of the board.   
  
“We try to have a no competitive rule,” Kath says as she brings her wine glass to her lips. “Rather hard when Martyn is around.”   
  
Phil scowls and it makes Dan feel incredibly fond. “He’s a cheater,” he says with a shake of his head. “Literally. He just does it to make me snap.”   
  
Kath coos, reaching across the coffee table to pat at his cheeks whilst Phil goes a slight shade of pink. “And I always tell you: Don’t let him get to you.”   
  
She takes her hand away and both Dan and Phil share a small glance. Dan’s trying absolutely everything in his power to get across the message of:  _ you are so fucking adorable _ without words.   
  
Phil blushes again and Dan counts it as a win,

Nigel announces the rules, even though Phil once again reminds him that it’s Monopoly and one of the easiest games in the world but they get playing and soon after a few goes, it starts to feel more relaxed.   
  
Dan forgets Kath’s no competitive rule as he manages to snag the Piccadilly that he knew Phil was looking out for. He lets out a howl of laughter once he sets his place down and hands Kath his paper money.   
  
Phil crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes. “Piccadilly,” he says under his breath. “I’ll pickle your-”   
  
Dan kicks him right in the ankle, causing him to give a sharp yelp before giving Dan a rather sheepish look.   
  
Kath and Nigel don’t seem to realise or care for the almost innuendo. Dan’s heart is fluttering in his chest, feeling like it might try and escape out of his mouth any moment before he feels Phil’s hand touch his.   
  
It’s only a small tiny moment that is gone as soon as it starts, his touch feeling more like a ghost than anything else, but he knows what it means: it’s an apology that Dan’s not even looking for.   
  
Kath is refilling Nigel’s glass back up when they manage to sneak a look at one another, and Dan smiles at him. It’s his,  _ I’m okay and I love you _ , smile.   
  
Phil does the same one right back.   
  
*   
  
Dan soon learns that the Lester game nights really are just drinking and bending the rules.   
  
He finds himself looking in from the outside as Phil guzzles down his third, fourth drink, and Kath is giggling, leaning into her husband as Dan nurses his second.   
  
The game is a mess, his little plastic game piece has been knocked off the board and off the table, lost somewhere, never to be found again unless it gets sucked up into the hoover tomorrow.   
  
But Dan doesn’t care about the game anymore; he’s watching Phil’s parents laugh and joke and talk, even if it is a bit of slurred nonsense now.   
  
Phil is laughing too, his shoulder keeps bumping into Dan’s and for once, Dan isn’t pulling away.   
  
When his body rests beside his, he lets it. He welcomes it and he lets Kath and Nigel see it, uncaring for now.   
  
They call the game quits, especially when Phil’s money pile gets knocked over and he starts fussing about how he would have won if it weren’t for Kath’s cheating (turns out Martyn got his bad gaming habits from someone) and eventually the game is stuffed back into the box where even more bits are missing than before.   
  
Phil kisses his mum on the head, grabs his dad a glass of water, mainly because he knows that he out of everyone gets far too carried away, and once they’ve all said goodnights, Dan’s trailing upstairs behind Phil, before they’re kicking his bedroom door shut and Phil’s flopping face first onto his bed where he doesn’t move.   
  
“If you sleep in your jeans you’ll get denim rub on your dick,” Dan tells him in a quiet voice as he walks towards the bed, tugging on his leg.   
  
Phil flips onto his back to look up at him, his face flushed from the drink and his hair is flat over his forehead from where his skin is a little sweaty.   
  
“Is that a real thing?” Phil asks groggily and Dan gives a breathy laugh as he starts to pull his jeans off his legs, a difficult task especially when Phil’s far too lazy to even attempt to help.   
  
But eventually they’re both in their pants and Dan’s crawling into the too-small-for-the-pair-of- them bed where Phil’s eyes are now shut and his mouth is starting to hang open a little where he’s slowly falling asleep.   
  
“I had fun tonight,” Dan whispers as he tucks himself impossibly close to Phil’s body, hitching a leg up his middle, throwing an arm across his chest. He knows in a few hours they’ll get too hot and peel away from one another, but for now this is nice.   
  
Phil grunts, smacking his lips together. “It wasn’t too much, was it?”   
  
Dan shakes his head, pressing his lips to Phil’s bare shoulder. “It was good,” he tells him. “It felt less weird and more…” he trails off but not long enough to have Phil fall asleep on him just yet.   
  
“It felt more natural,” he whispers eventually. “Like they knew me. Like they knew about… us.”   
  
Phi opens his eyes at that to look at him wildly.   
  
“I don’t care,” Dan croaks. “For once I really don’t. Your parents are good. They made you, after all.”   
  
Phil’s face breaks into a grin, eyes growing small and lips lopsided as he rolls onto his side to face him, their noses brush and Dan can smell the wine on his breath when he breathes.   
  
“We don’t have to say anything,” he assures him gently. “Not unless you want to.”   
  
His hand finds Phil’s under the covers and they lace their fingers together, hands slot together so perfectly it’s like they were made for one another.

And if Dan believed in soulmates and fate and destiny, he might actually say they were.   
  
He gives his hand a squeeze and Phil squeezes back.   
  
“And until then we can just keep playing board games and drinking until you get all sleepy, yeah?”   
  
Phil’s eyes are closed again, clearly fighting a losing battle against sleep, but he still manages to smile and Dan’s heart flips in his chest when he does.   
  
“If that’s what you want, then yeah,” he whispers, voice slurred with both exhaustion and drink. “If it makes you happy.”   
  
Dan smiles, their legs brush together and he settles in close to him, not once letting go of his hand as he closes his eyes and listens to the sound of the house going quiet around them save for Phil’s slow breathing.   
  
“Yeah,” he whispers back. “It does.”   


**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr !! @watergator


End file.
